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August 2013

Experts are talking about the defeat of the EU, as Nabucco even as Nabucco West - has remained on paper. With TAP pipeline EU got the chance to direct supplies from the Caspian Sea 10 billion cubic meters of gas per year from 2019-th. But it will apply only to the two countries - EU member states through which the pipeline will pass - Greece and Italy. Having given the benefit of TAP, Azerbaijan lost the chance to get to Central Europe, where there will be a positive growth of gas consumption. The State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, or SOCAR, as a group of Western companies - participants of the Shah Deniz consortium and TAP, frankly scared to compete with "Gazprom". But for Baku it is not only in the gas.

To renegotiate the terms of Britain’s EU membership, David Cameron must find allies. One of his targets is the Netherlands. But if the British prime minister misreads his potential allies and pushes for opt-outs or a large-scale repatriation of powers, he is certain to find himself isolated, writes Rem Korteweg.

In a working Pentagon visit this week, Colonel General Safar Abiyev, Azerbaijan's Minister of Defense, and U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel pledged to extend and deepen the strategic partnership between their two countries, the Counselor of the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in the US Fakhraddin Ismayilov reported.

An American dream would come true: studies show the US could become independent from energy imports by 2030. This forecast has lit a gold rush fever in the energy sector and sparked a geopolitical debate.

Spanish and French police have dismantled a human trafficking ring that smuggled Chinese migrants into Europe and the United States, arresting 75 suspects including alleged "main operatives" based in Barcelona.

In Europe, the hunt for fugitive corrupt officials. In France arrested the former head of BTA Bank Mukhtar Ablyazov. In Astana, do not lose hope for the arrest of other fugitives. Almost all of them - former high-level officials, suddenly became "the opposition" after fleeing the country. But for the European Themis it does not matter.

Despite Russia's "aggression" and its "persisting destructive policy directed against Georgia's independence and statehood", the Georgian government seeks "a gradual normalization" of bilateral ties, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on August 7 on the occasion of the fifth year anniversary of the war with Russia.

In an operation that could have come straight from a Hollywood thriller, investigators tracked down fugitive Kazakh oligarch Mukhtar Ablyazov to his hideaway in the south of France by following a close friend of his all the way from London.

Iran's new President Hassan Rouhani has stated his determination to resolve the nuclear dispute. Tehran's nuclear program is a source of contention because the West fears Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons.

Purchasing of gas transporting system of Kyrgyzstan by Gazprom was hardly noticed on the background of other events in the world with participation of Russia. Meanwhile, the agreement of Russia gas corporation with Kyrgyz partners is out of the frames of exclusively economic transaction.

The news of the arrest in France fugitive banker Mukhtar Ablyazov swindler who is wanted under an international warrant on request of several European countries and the CIS states, prompting some interest has already overgrown with rumors and speculation. One of the main issues of the topic is, which country will be extradited by French authorities in custody M.Ablyazov?

Despite visa free travel for Azeri citizens and dynamic trade, long mutual borders and some shared interests, Iran and Azerbaijan do not seem to be able to get along. Good Azeri-Israeli relations, political and criminal intrigue, Azerbaijan’s cooperation with the West, and the fact that Azerbaijan, due to its Soviet legacy is more secular than the Islamic Republic of Iran are often cited as the roots of the two countries issues with each other. But perhaps the true root of trouble lies in geography; whether it be physical, cultural or political which has allowed for these other problems to ferment.